Bobby Bonnet of Surround Podcast Network writes about the importance of podcast sponsorship.
The global podcast audience will reach 546.7 million listeners in 2024, and is projected to grow to 651.7 million by 2027 (Emarketer).
With over 500 million listeners, podcasting solidifies the place as a permanent medium. Podcasting is a particularly attractive platform for creators and advertisers, as it offers fewer barriers to entry, flexible formats and attractive communities.
Creators with a strong perspective that can consistently create high-quality content can build a dedicated audience with a good marketing savvy.
That being said, monetizing a podcast can be even more difficult than creating content that resonates with listeners.
For example, take traditional programmatic ads. If you're a podcast listener, you've probably heard the 15-30-second ads familiar from brands like Tommy John, Herofresh, and Squarespace.
Starting a programmatic advertising strategy is relatively easy. Podcasters sets up ad slots for the middle, middle, and postrolls automatically filled by the hosting platform as part of the opt-in agreement. However, unless the podcast generates hundreds of thousands of ad impressions (tens of tens of thousands of downloads), your income potential is limited.
According to Acast, the average CPM for podcast ads ranges from $15 to $50, and you need an impression of 200,000-600,000 to get your first $10,000. Additionally, Podcasters abandon creative control when serving programmatic ads. Commercial messaging is unrelated to content and can present a potential turn-off to listeners.
So, if you're making podcasts in niche categories, how do you break through? One solution is podcast sponsorship.
They require more creativity and business development efforts, but direct flat cuisine sponsorships provide opportunities for podcasts that monetize content, even small but highly enthusiastic audiences. Masu.
The key to success is building relationships with mutually beneficial and authentic future advertising partners. This means finding a brand that matches the value of the podcast and acts as a genuine partner.
There are three steps to consider when it comes to successful sponsor partnerships.
1. Consider audience match
The first step in raising sponsorships is to consider a match for your audience. For example, in Surround Podcast Networks, our content is primarily designed for design and architecture professionals. We understand that listeners have a specific professional mindset when tuning, making them more accepting of industry-related advertisers. This creates an ideal opportunity for advertisers to connect with a focused audience. It is important to consider your own listeners and the types of ads they find attractive and relevant. Reliability is important.
2. Master storytelling
The next piece of the puzzle – and what sets the podcast sponsorship apart is the storytelling. While the brand may act as a showcasing season sponsors, the true value lies in the way creators weave meaningful stories about partnerships. This can be achieved through creative mid-roll messaging, featuring hosts highlighting the relevance of sponsorships, sharing personal testimonials, and interviews with interesting voices from sponsored brands. Hopefully, this approach benefits both podcasters, advertisers and listeners.
3. Give your brand a space to shine
Surround was successful by expanding the sponsorship package with full-length custom episodes. This format allows advertisers to share their brand stories in a unique and detailed way, far beyond what is generally possible through standard digital placement and marketing initiatives. These episodes give podcast creators and their audience the opportunity to truly connect with sponsors and promote deeper relationships that play a key role in the customer's decision-making process. By maintaining transparency and integrity, creators build trust with listeners, and advertisers benefit from real brand development.
Acast research shows that podcast ads outperform other audio channels, such as radio and music streaming.
According to their survey results, 64% of respondents pay great attention to their podcasts. It's significantly higher than 49% of music streaming and 44% on radio.
Just as great content encourages connections with listeners, so does authentic partnerships. By understanding the audience, creating compelling stories and creating spaces for brands to shine, podcasters and networks can provide meaningful and engaging sponsorships that will captivate listeners. can. It's a victory for everyone involved.
Bobby Bonett is a digital media leader with experience building brands, developing content, growing audiences, monetization drives and scaling teams. As Chief Marketing and Revenue Director at Sandow Design Group, Bobby is committed to digital strategy and operations for multi-platform group of design brands including Interior Design, Metropolis, Luxe Interiors + Design, digital content services, content delivery networks, and business. Oversees growth strategies. .
